Movie: Rang De Basanti (2006)
Singers: Daler Mehndi, Lata Mangeshkar, A.R Rahman, Madhushree, Naresh Iyer, Nacim, Mohammad Aslam, Harshdeep Kaur, Amir Khan, Mohit Chauhan
Music: A.R Rahman
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Rang De Basanti is an all time favorite 2006 Indian drama movie that ruled over every Indian’s heart.
It was written, produced and directed by the phenomenal, super talented Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. The movie stars an ensemble cast including
Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kapoor and British actress Alice Patten. It basically follows a British film student’s journey to India to make a documentary about the story of 5 freedom fighters from our famous revolutionary movement. Alice befriends and casts these 5 young men, which motivates them to fight against the corruption of their own government. The songs are said to be a masterpiece in fusion.
Let’s read a bit about the songs from the Rang De Basanti album..
Rang De Basanti
The Rang De Basanti theme song brings back many fond memories. It was a superhit, power-packed, energetic song and its charm never ends. The song was composed by A.R Rahman. There is a thing about the music. It has the same, monotonous beats in each line, which makes it more rhythmic. Daler Mehndi’s voice sounds like that of a hero and Chitra adds the soul to the song. Prasoon Joshi’s patriotic lyrics will take you to the roots of India. You actually get the fragrance of India’s soil in this song.
Luka Chuppi
This song was not designed to be a part of the Rang De Basanti album. A.R Rahman spoke in an interview that the songs from this film were supposed to be upbeat and modern but he planned to do a song about the call of a mother as the entire movie was about this theme. Waheeda Rahman being the mother expressed her emotions most beautifully. Prasoon Joshi and Nasim wrote about this beautiful mother, son duo song that is inseparable and the mother is scolding her son for playing hide and seek and asks her to come to the front. Lata Mangeshkar and A.R Rahman sing for the mother- son duo.
Tu Bin Bataye
This track had got lost in the large ocean of Bollywood songs. It is a phenomenal romantic track from the Rang De Basanti album. The track is slow and laid back. A.R Rahman beautifully sets the mood for old school romance through his music. Prasoon Joshi writes about this lover or well wisher who pines to go away to a place where he/ she is happy without telling anyone. Madhushree and Naresh Iyer’s soothing voices bring the romantic relationships in the film alive in the most beautiful way.
Roobaru Roshni
Most songs from Rang De Basanti give an adrenaline rush to those who are listening, but did you guys know that this song was Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji’s favorite. Lyricist Prasoon himself shared this at a media conference.
He stated that each song in the film is special but the lyrics from this song talking about the bright sunshine and the happiness that it brings specially the part that talks about ‘Suraj Ko Main Nigal Gaya’ from ‘RU-BA-RU’ was Atal Ji’s most favorite. A.R Rahman and Naresh Iyer have sung it in the style of pop singers who attract the young crowd. Rahman is highly innovative with the music and has created a masterpiece.
Khalbali
This song is a full on masti number from Rang De Basanti. We just can’t forget how Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Sharman Joshi, Cyrus Sahukar, Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan have all the fun in the world while working on Alice Patten’s highly appreciated documentary. The film is a patriotic drama and each song in the new-age patriotic drama has a particular meaning. A. R Rahman, Nacim and Mohammad Aslam only came together to sing this song and have never collaborated for any other song. The lyrics by Prasoon Joshi and Nacim are about the maddening fun and Rahman has made use of the perfect instruments in his composition.
Masti Ki Pathshaala
Masti Ki Pathshala brings back all the mad fun scenarios from the early 2000’s. The popular friends gang in the movie can be seen hanging out at the most exotic tourist spots in Delhi like the India Gate and Amar Jawan. Prasoon Joshi and A.R Rahman were the best lyricist, composer duo who made the entire Rang De Basanti album successful. Prasoon Joshi ji has written about a fun place of learning. It is not necessarily a school, but any place where you get to learn. Rahman’s superfast beats will make you jump and dance. Naresh Iyer and Mohammad Aslam’s voices have the power to make an entire generation go crazy over this song.
Ik Onkar
Ik Onkar is the quintessential devotional track from Rang De Basanti portraying the beauty of Sikhism. This soothing song will transport you to the premises of the spectacular Golden Temple and will make you feel like you have taken a dip in the holy waters around the temple along with Amir and his friends. Harshdeep Kaur’s godly voice will reverberate through your ears and make you feel at peace as you pray along with the actors in the film. Harshdeep Kaur was not that popular in 2006, but now she is a sensation in the Bollywood playback music industry. This song paved her way to success. Prasoon Joshi only made some minor changes to the original wordings from the guru granth sahib. Even A.R Rahman did not make much changes to the original music.
Laalkaar
This one is a new age patriotic song sung by none other than Amir Khan himself. The popular lines SARFAROSHI KI TAMANNA AB HAMARE DIL MEIN HAIN have been used in this song. The lyrics by Joshi are poetic and instigate patriotic feelings, the music by A.R Rahman is in the form of background music being played behind the poetry like song recited by Amir. This genre is rare in Bollywood music.
Khoon Chala
This song sung by Mohit Chauhan is an emotional ride into the life of a mother, played by Waheeda Rehman, who lost her son, R. Madhavan, who became a martyr while serving India. The video features Aamir Khan, Siddharth Narayan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan rallying near India Gate for justice and against evil. This song will give birth to the patriot within you. Mohit Chauhan’s voice is just the perfect fit for this loud, bold melody. Prasoon Joshi has the power to bring about a revolution through his words and A.R Rahman is the champion as his music made this album a super duper hit.
Final Words
These dynamic songs are somewhere etched within us. Hope this blog will help you recollect the beautiful memories from Rang De Basanti. There are lots of Teen Maar Khan games on Gaana Pehchaana based on A.R Rahman’s masterpieces and patriotic superhits. Check out TMK363 “A. R. Rahman in the 2000’s”! You can also play two other TMK games: TMK254 “A. R. Rahman Hits!” and TMK102 “A. R. Rahman Special”! Or if you are in a patriotic mood, check out TMK 282 “Mera Bharat Mahaan/Patriotic Songs”, or TMK163 Happy Republic Day”. Install the app from Playstore/Appstore.
-By
Arunima Gupta
